


All-out war

by LB_Mamba



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Arguing, Attempted Murder, Cara | CaptainPuffy POV, El Rapids, Eret POV, Explosions, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Hurt No Comfort, Multiple Pronouns for Eret (Video Blogging RPF), Murder, Not Beta Read, Protests, Rebellion, Revenge, The Knights of Eret, Then
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-12 14:13:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28761606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LB_Mamba/pseuds/LB_Mamba
Summary: Surely, there's no way planning a terrorist attack to frame Eret and get him dethroned can backfire.Except, of course, when things go wrong.Terribly wrong.
Relationships: Alexis | Quackity & GeorgeNotFound & Karl Jacobs & Sapnap, Cara | Captain Puffy & Eret, Cara | Captain Puffy & Eret & Liam | HBomb94, Cara | Captain Puffy & Liam | HBomb94, Eret & Liam | HBomb94
Comments: 5
Kudos: 58





	All-out war

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there ! Author here :)  
> I really wanted to write about Puffy and the Knights of Eret, so of course, I made it angsty. I swear I'll write something happy someday.  
> Just a few things before you start, I slightly altered the timeline, by which I mean Puffy and HBomb were knighted about a month before the El Rapids protest, rather than on the exact same day. Also, this features blast injuries described by someone who has read three articles and isn't brave enough to look at actual pictures, which means they may be inaccurate. Oh, and I've tried using multiple pronouns for Eret, which may be kind of confusing at times, but shouldn't be too bothering, especially since I tried only alternating pronouns between paragraphs.  
> But yeah, I hope you'll enjoy reading this :D

"Huh. What is that ?"

Hbomb's voice interrupted Eret and Puffy's conversation, making them sigh in unison. The ruler got up from their chair to go check on their knight, leaving Puffy alone at the table, staring at the map displayed in front of her.

Ugh, she loved being a knight, but battle strategy had to be the most boring part of it. Especially when at peace. It was just throwing around a bunch of hypotheses about what could happen in a nearby future, what could be done to prevent it, and what they would do if it did happen.

Her eyes went from the small representation of the castle to L'Manberg. She didn't like the idea of a war between Dream and the nation. Simply because her loyalty lied with her king, which meant with Dream. Which also meant that she would have to fight L'Manberg. To fight Niki.

Yeah, she was going to do her best to keep the peace as it was.

"Uh, Puffy ? I think you should see this too," Eret's voice interrupted her thoughts.

Her ears flicking up in curiosity, she jumped down her chair before joining Eret and Hbomb next to the window, bending over to see whatever they were seeing.

Which was a group of people standing in front of the castle, near the towers forming the entrance. Three of them. Too far away to allow Puffy to recognize them or to see what they were doing.

"Were you expecting anyone ?" she asked Eret, tensing up when the ruler shook her head.

"No, I wasn't. It could be Dream, but he usually comes alone, and he wouldn't wait in front of the entrance without even knocking. I have no idea who else would just show up unannounced."

"Sounds like we have to check it out," Hbomb announced, placing his hand on the handle of the sword lying on his side.

Puffy nodded, straightening the collar of her scarlet coat to mask her nervousness. There was no telling what would wait for them outside of the building. She had been expecting a regular peaceful day, but this could easily turn into a fight, maybe even a war given how quickly events had been evolving lately.

Nevertheless, she walked towards the outside, making sure to stay in front of Eret to be able to protect them in case things turned badly, and as they pushed the large wooden door separating the main hall from the outside, they were greeted by a voice.

"Ah ! You finally dare show your faces !"

Puffy raised an eyebrow. She didn't recognize that voice, but a quick look at the ruler's frowned eyebrows and confused face told her that she knew who that person was.

Said ruler put a hand on both of his knights' shoulders before stepping in front of them, and though Puffy's initial reaction had been to not let them put themselves in danger, she trusted them enough to let them do their thing, which was why she simply nodded before following them.

They walked for a few feet before stopping ; Puffy was finally close enough to assess the situation.

There stood three men. She wasn't quite familiar with them, but she had heard enough rumors to recognize them.

The first one, a man whose black hair was tied by a white bandana, and who was dressed in those two colors except for the flame design on his t-shirt, had to be Sapnap, well-known for his involvement in several Pet wars, as well as being one of Dream's best friends.

The second one wore a dark blue beanie and sweatshirt, which would have been enough to identify him due to his reputation even if Puffy hadn't met him several times in L'Manberg, when visiting Niki. That was Quackity, of course, current Secretary of State of L'Manberg.

As for the last one, to be fair, Puffy would never have known who this colorful hoodie and messy brown hair belonged to if she hadn't assumed that, since the man was close to both Sapnap and Quackity, he most likely was Karl, their third fiancé.

She still didn't know what those three were doing in front of Eret's castle though.

Looking around, her eyes were caught by the sight of multiple wooden signs, chaotically displayed around the men, some even piling up or covering the stone walls of the building. She pushed herself forward to read the closest of them, only to discover that it displayed the message "Eret sux ! Take a hike dimwit". The ones that surrounded it were covered in similar inscriptions, including "We hate Eret", "Boooooo" and "Give us back the throne". None were very kind messages.

"What the hell ?" she let out, glancing at Eret who simply shrugged, indicating that they knew as much as she did about the situation, which was not much.

Just in case, she placed her hand on the handle of her sword, though she kept it in its sheath, hanging from her side. She didn't want this to get violent, but if it did, she would not let them win without a fight.

Sapnap was first to break the silence, stepping forward and spreading his arms in a mockery of a welcoming motion.

"Hello, dear friends !"

"Cut the crap, Sapnap," Eret interrupted him. "What are you guys doing in front of my castle ?"

The man simply smirked, looking at his friends and nodding at them before turning back to the ruler and putting his hands behind his head.

"We're protesting !" he declared in a provocative tone. "George is the rightful king, so we're here to make things right. It's not against you, pal, but you're going to have to hand him your crown and castle over."

"They wrote "Eret sux" everywhere, how is it not against him ?" Hbomb questioned, quietly enough for the other knight to be the only one to hear him, making her snicker and lightly punch him in the arm.

"How dare you !" Eret exclaimed at the same time, gesturing around herself at the signs. "Not only are you insulting me and littering my property, but you also have the audacity to demand that I give up my power for no reason ?"

The three men shook their head in almost perfect synchronization.

"Your property ? This is George's ! He should be sitting on that throne !" Quackity shouted.

"Yeah, George is the rightful king !" Karl added with a frown.

"How dare we ? No, how dare _you_ stand where he stood," Sapnap finished, crossing his arms as if to put a final stop to the conversation.

Oh, Puffy was already getting tired of this. She could already see that the group had no concrete argument besides "George was king and he's our friend so we want him back !" and that they hadn't come to listen to reason. They weren't going to leave without either what they wanted or a sword poking their backs.

She didn't even know why they were still dwelling on the past. Yeah, sure, George had been king, but it hadn't even lasted a few weeks, and it had been, what, a month since ? Why hadn't they protested earlier, if their friend's kingship mattered that much to them ? It made no sense. Especially considering what George had accomplished during his reign, which was nothing. He had even ignored a war to build a house, while Eret had taken a stand and fought next to a revolution that had rejected him ! He was much more qualified to rule over the server than George ever had been, and they couldn't see that because they were biased towards their friend.

And yes, maybe Puffy's opinion was a little influenced by the fact that Eret was her friend and had made her their knight, but hell, at least she had more arguments to defend her mind than just "Boohoo, he's our friend".

Ugh, this whole situation was starting to upset her. She slammed her hoof against the wooden path in an attempt to calm herself, but it didn't do anything except get Hbomb's attention. The two of them exchanged a serious look. They were both ready to defend their ruler, with their words as well as their swords.

Said ruler wasn't willing to let the conversation end there either.

"What are you even talking about ? I built this castle myself ! My kingship was given to me by Dream ! Why aren't you protesting him ?"

Her opponents didn't even dare answer that question.

"You're a nimrod, Eret," Karl let out instead.

Puffy's ears flicked towards him as she took a step forward.

"Don't you insult your king," she exclaimed, trying to appear as menacing as she could without having to unsheath her sword.

"That guy's not my king, he's a fucking phony !" Quackity yelled back as he revealed his own weapon, an axe he had hidden behind his back.

Puffy tensed up, ready to fight. She was aware that hurting the Secretary of State of the neighboring nation had the potential to cause a political conflict and perhaps even a war, but the man had been the first to show aggressiveness, so she was in the right in the eyes of the law. Anything that would happen past that would be nothing but self-defense.

Luckily enough, she didn't have to fight anyone, thanks to Sapnap stepping next to Quackity and laying a hand on his shoulder.

"Careful, Puffy." His warning sounded mocking, and so did the grin going from one side of his head to the other. "We're just peacefully protesting, right ? You have no reason to attack us."

Oh, the prick. She wanted nothing more than to throw her clenched fist in his face, but the eyes of her ruler piercing through her back were enough to prevent her from actually acting on her impulse. She stepped back instead, retreating behind the king who nodded at her, trying to ignore the satisfied smirks of the three men opposing them. God, if only she could stomp them with her hooves. Not to death, of course, only enough for them to stop spewing their bullshit.

With which they didn't seem to be done, given the look Quackity and Karl exchanged before the second one walked up to Eret.

"You say Dream was the one to give you your power, but he can't force you to remain king, right ? You could just step down. Is Dream really the problem here, or is he just an excuse for your cowardice ?"

"You're intentionally misunderstanding my point. Dream decided that George was not fit to be king and that I was, and I agree with him. If you have any reclamation, address it to him, not me."

"So what, are you Dream's little dog now ?" Quackity interrupted him from the back.

Oh, how Puffy wished she could slap him. Luckily for him, Hbomb stepped in first this time, making sure to show off the sword laying on his side to all of their opponents.

"Dudes, is your idea of "peacefully protesting" just standing there, inconveniencing us and insulting our ruler ? Just get out."

"Oh, I don't think that will be necessary," Sapnap intervened, his voice dripping with honey.

Something in his hands caught Puffy's eyes. A tiny rectangular item that she easily recognized since almost everyone on the server had one.

A communicator.

He glanced at it, his smirk somehow enlarging before he shoved it in his pocket and made a sign to his friends.

Puffy suddenly had a bad feeling about this.

"H," she let out to try and get her fellow knight's attention, before she was cut by Karl's screech.

"Eret, what are you doing !"

The person in question raised an eyebrow, visibly confused as to what the problem was since they hadn't moved an inch.

Puffy had a very, very bad feeling about this.

The fear in Karl's voice... it sounded fake. Fake enough to have made her want to throw up if she hadn't been so panicked. There wasn't an ounce of actual surprise in the man's body, she was willing to bet on it, especially since his friends didn't seem particularly worried by their fiancé's actions.

This had to be planned, then. But what was it ? What were they trying to do ?

The answer to her question came to her in the form of a weak sizzling sound.

Her ears immediately perked up. That hadn't been there a few seconds ago, she was absolutely sure of it. And it was growing in intensity. Where did it even come from ?

A quick look around confirmed that no one else seemed to be hearing that sound. Perhaps she was the only one able to, thanks to her enhanced sheep hearing ; but the various yells coming from the protesters certainly didn't help. Sapnap and Quackity had joined the chorus of "Stop it, Eret !" and "Please, just listen to us !", and their voices sounded as fake as Karl's had. They were walking away, too. They knew something was going to happen.

Some kind of siren started wailing inside of Puffy's mind.

She focused on the unknown sound.

It was getting louder.

Closer.

And it came from...

Right beneath them.

_Oh no._

"Eret, watch out !" she screamed, running towards the ruler and tackling him with as much strength as she had to get him out of the way, accidentally hitting Karl as well.

The ground exploded under her hooves.

—

Eret let out a gasp of pain as their hands hit the dirt, their whole body following not a second after.

Smoke filled his lungs. He coughed.

_What had just happened ?_

She had been speaking with Karl, then she had heard Puffy's voice, been hit by something, and then...

Then there had been a blinding flash, a deafening noise, and they had been blown away by the strength of a massive blast.

There was smoke everywhere. The entirety of Eret's body was sore. The only thing he could hear was a high-pitched noise ringing through his head. The air smelled like burnt and tasted like salt.

They... were safe, somehow. Although they were in pain from being tackled and falling to the ground, they didn't think they had actually been hurt by the explosion.

What about the others ?

She raised her head. Though the greyish tint of the smoke made it hard to see, her eyes quickly met Karl's, who was lying down, a few meters away. Unlike her, he had landed on his back, most likely before they had been facing each other before everything had happened. Karl's face showed a mixture of surprise and relief, as it should have after narrowly avoiding death ; however, when he caught sight of Eret, his behavior completely changed as he seemingly tried to get away from her, slipping on a hand that was still too weak to hold his weight.

That shadow in his eyes... It wasn't mock fear, like what he had displayed right before the explosion.

He was terrified of him.

Why ? Eret had just lived the exact same thing as he had. They hadn't caused it. How could they ? They were standing at the exact same place as him. So why ? Why was he staring at them like they were going to rip off his throat and bathe in his blood ?

Those would be questions for later, she decided as she shook her thoughts off. What mattered now was the others and their safety. The smoke was finally starting to clear up, allowing him to look around more easily.

In the middle of the place, right where the explosion had taken place, now stood a gigantic hole. It looked as unnatural as it was ; the bottom of it was covered in a dark stain. Soot, Eret assumed. The path that had been going through there had been completely destroyed, leaving only burned wooden planks on both sides of the cavity. The towers standing around thankfully had somehow managed to stay intact despite the chaos reigning between them. At least the material damage wouldn't be too annoying to fix.

On the left of the hole, Sapnap and Quackity were helping each other up. Both had been standing farther away from the explosion than Karl and Eret had, which explained the speed at which they had managed to recover. There were words escaping their mouths, but they were too far for the ruler to manage to hear them.

On its right, Hbomb was in a similar position, though he was having troubles trying to get up himself. Looking up, he saw Eret looking at him, and nodded, raising a weak thumb up to signify his safety. The queen let out a sigh of relief before nodding back with a soft smile.

Both his smile and his relief instantly faded when his eyes fell on a figure a few meters away from him, lying completely still, head against the dirt.

Oh no.

No, no, no, _no_.

_"Puffy !"_

Their own hoarse cry startled them.

He jumped on his feet, groaning when the pain thundered through his body, and ran to her side, his heart beating so fast in his chest he was afraid it might explode.

Puffy had called out to them.

Puffy had been the one to push her.

Puffy had protected him.

Puffy...

Puffy didn't react to his cry.

Puffy didn't move at all.

And now that Eret was getting closer, she could see it. She could see them.

The fresh burns covering her legs and her back.

Eret let out a choked sob.

Their knight had been standing right next to the explosion. She had been the closest out of everyone there. And she had been there because she had attempted to shield them from it. To protect them. She had realized what was going to happen before everyone else and had chosen to sacrifice herself to protect her king.

He fell to his knees, the pain suddenly a far and vague thought compared to the wave of grief and despair washing over him.

The burns went from Puffy's hooves to the beginning of her shoulder blades. Most of her coat had been completely consumed by fire, leaving damaged threads hanging on both sides of the costume. The long and fluffy mass of her hair was covering her head, but it had been visibly reduced, burned as well ; her pirate hat had been blown away by the blast.

Carefully – or perhaps his arms were just too weak to be anything but careful –, Eret placed his hands on each side of her torso and turned her around, doing his best to avoid touching or looking at the atrocious burns that made his stomach churn.

Puffy's face was uninjured, though it was dirty because of her fall. Eret brushed the dirt off with her sleeve, but it didn't make her feel any better. The sheep woman's face seemed... relaxed, though. Almost peaceful. But the queen knew better than to believe it was the case. There was no way it hadn't hurt.

A white, shiny drop of an unknown liquid fell on the woman's cheek. It took a few seconds for Eret to realize it was their tear. Soon, more of them came, all as pure as the color of the ruler's eyes. They couldn't remember the last time they had cried.

He needed Puffy by his side. He wished she could just open her eyes, frown, and ask why the hell he was sobbing while holding her head. He wished he could just shake his head, scrub off the tears and say it was nothing. He wished they could get up and rebuild the place before going back to work in his castle.

Except she stayed still and they kept sobbing.

"...Why ?"

Eret's voice sounded weak, broken. It was nothing more than a whisper. Anything else would have felt out of place.

"Why would you do that ?"

It was a rhetorical question, of course it was. She already knew the answer that would have come out of the woman's mouth if she could have answered.

'Hey, what kind of lousy knight would I be if I let my king be injured by a random bomb ?'

Except she wouldn't ever say that. He wouldn't ever hear her voice again. He wouldn't hear her playfully call him "Your majesty" and see her mockingly bow in front of him ever again. He wouldn't sit next to her at their table and discuss anything and everything, the potential upcoming war as well as her latest date with Nihachu, ever again. He wouldn't see her bicker with Hbomb about who was the best knight out of the two of them ever again.

She was gone.

A hand was laid on Eret's shoulder. It somewhat calmed them down. They hadn't realized they had been shaking. Looking behind themselves, they saw Hbomb, who crouched to be at the same level as his ruler. He had the same devastated look in his eyes.

None of them said anything. It just didn't feel right. Nothing did.

There was a long silence. Even nature had quietened. Nothing dared disturb the heavy atmosphere that reigned around there.

Until something – someone – did.

"Guys, what happened ?"

The voice was neither Eret's nor Hbomb's. Actually, it wasn't Quackity's, Sapnap's or Karl's either. It was familiar, though, Eret knew that person, didn't he ?

He raised his head, sniffing as he looked around, trying to identify who and where the newcomer was.

Said newcomer, a man, was walking towards them from behind Eret at a casual pace, visibly not that worried about the loud booming noise that had come from there only minutes ago, or about the gigantic hole in the middle of the way. Not that they thought of it, he didn't sound concerned either. Only... curious ? And was that a pint of amusement ? Surely not.

He was getting close enough to be recognized, and sure enough, Eret knew him. Those big, white goggles could only belong to George. Thinking about it, the former king wasn't actually walking towards them, but rather towards Sapnap, Karl and Quackity, who had regrouped on another side of the hole.

The lazy smile George had on his face faded out of the blue as he approached the group.

"Wait... Karl ? Why are you- what- why... ?"

Huh ?

What was he trying to say ?

There was no reason for him to be surprised of Karl's presence. Either he had known all of them would be there, or he hadn't known any of them would, in which case he wouldn't be only mentioning Karl.

Why, then, was he concerned to find him there ?

Eret's confusion only grew when Sapnap indicated his direction with a sign of his chin, a haunted look in his eyes. Thinking of, none of his group had come to check on Puffy or her friends. None of them had bothered to come closer. No, they were just standing there, horror dancing on their face, and everything in their attitude reminded the ruler of a prey trying to quietly escape from a threat.

A threat they apparently thought to be Eret, given the terrified looks they regularly sent them.

That made no sense. She hadn't set the bomb. She wouldn't have killed her own knight, one of her best friends and most trusted allies. So why were they scared of her ?

Oh.

Unless.

No. No, it couldn't be.

No, no, no, he refused to believe it. He refused to believe they would do such a thing.

... But it made sense, right ?

It explained so much, didn't it ?

Something started pooling in their chest, mixing up with the dread and the grief. Something wilder, something... _angrier._

"Quackity," he began, taking Hbomb's hand off his shoulder to lay it under Puffy's neck before slowly stepping back, trusting his knight to take care of his late colleague, "Sapnap, Karl," he added as he stood up, turned around and gravely walked towards the group of people that was staring at him with increasing tension, each of his words a little colder than the last one, "George," he finished, towering over the four of them, a menacing look in his eyes.

"Tell me." They shivered as one. "Did you cause this explosion ?"

There was a moment of shocked silence. Quackity was the first to shake himself out of his torpor, pointing an accusing finger at Eret. His gesture lacked conviction, and so did his words.

"Woah, woah, wait a minute, are you accusing us of doing this ? For all we know, you could be the one to have-"

"Shut up."

There was enough ice in those two words to instantly shut up the usually unstoppable man.

"I do not have time for your childish endeavors, for your excuses and your dancing around the subject. You three showed up at my castle under the pretense of some ridiculous protest and the place where you stood blew up ; now you're joined by a fourth person who obviously sees something else wrong with the situation than the hole in my yard and the body laying there. So now, do not fucking try to lie to me or to avoid the question. A woman just died. My sworn knight, my friend, a person I respected and appreciated, sacrificed herself to save my life from the explosion. I am not in the mood for your petty demands and your foolish defense. I ask you to be honest with me. Did you, or did you not, plant explosives under my yard and kill Sir Captain Puffy ?"

Their volume increased as they spoke, their last question a shout of rage and despair, a cry for an answer, a plea for them to deny everything and for another culprit to show up.

They didn't even dare look her in the eyes. They simply stayed silent. That was enough of an answer and they knew it well.

Karl's voice was filled with repressed tears when he finally managed to speak.

"I... we didn't... it wasn't meant to be this way, I- I swear it wasn't ! We just- we- we didn't want to- to kill her ! It wasn't our intention !"

"And what was your intention ? Huh ? Did you mean to kill me instead ? Or what ? To frame me, maybe ?"

The four of them shrank as they got yelled at, Sapnap letting out a whimper of fear. Eret didn't care. He didn't care about how much they were afraid. He didn't care about their intentions, or about any excuse they could attempt to give him. They had killed Puffy. They had killed Puffy. They had killed Puffy.

Eret would have put her sword through their chests if she had listened to what her heart told her to do.

They took a deep breath instead, though that was definitely not enough to calm them down.

He couldn't stand being next to them. A single second more spent in their presence and he would beat them up with his bare fists. Instead, he turned around, walking back next to Hbomb, next to Puffy's body still lying down.

What would she have done, in their place ? What would she have said ?

'Don't risk it all. Your kingship and your relations with Dream and L'Manberg matter, too. I did what I did because I wanted to. Punish them but don't try to avenge me.'

Did that sound like something she would say ? Or was Eret simply placing words they thought to be the voice of reason in her mouth ?

It didn't matter, though. Because whatever the voice of reason had to say repulsed him. His kingship ? His relations ? To hell with that ! They had killed Puffy. They deserved to be punished. And they wouldn't get that punishment if Eret didn't act himself. In the best case scenario, they would be stuck at home for a few days, and all would be forgiven.

Eret felt bile rise in her throat at that thought.

Sapnap and George were two of Dream's best friends, Quackity was the vice-president of L'Manberg, and Karl was a part of its government as well. Their actions wouldn't have consequences for them because they had power, enough to avoid facing punishment for what they had done. And that was unfair. That was so unfair.

Eret had power, too. But Eret was a puppet to Dream and an enemy to L'Manberg. No matter how much they demanded an appropriate punishment, they wouldn't be listened to. Not unless they did something themselves.

His eyes went to the pirate hat lying a few meters away, on the ground, somehow almost intact despite the massive blast. He walked over there and bent over to pick it up, feeling the smooth feeling of the silk under his fingers before placing it on his chest in a mockery of a hug and closing his eyes.

It had always gotten in her way whenever she had tried to hug Puffy, but after everything, it felt nicer than it ever had. Calming, almost.

Except it also reminded them that they wouldn't get to hug Puffy ever again. They wouldn't get to shove their face into her fluffy hair, they wouldn't get to hear her complain about how tall they were.

Sapnap, Karl, Quackity and George had taken that away from him.

Tommy had been exiled from L'Manberg for burning down a single house, and yet they would get away with murdering one of her closest friends.

That mere thought made him sick.

Screw their kingship, screw Dream, screw their relationships, screw L'Manberg, screw everything.

The four men deserved to pay, and the only person who could make them pay was Eret himself.

Rage was burning in their chest, in their stomach, in their heart.

Revenge was the only thing that mattered now.

"Eret... ?" Hbomb's concerned voice interrupted his thoughts. "Are you... ok ?"

The ruler spat out a mirthless laugh, looking her knight in the eyes in hopes of managing to transmit her anger and her need for payment to the man.

"I'm not."

He looked back, unsurprised to discover that the four men had taken advantage of being left alone to run away from him.

_Cowards._

_Murderers_

"They killed her, Hbomb. They tried to kill me and they took her life instead. And now they're running free. Does that seem fair to you ?"

The man slowly shook his head, though rather than the rage burning inside of Eret's chest, there was concern in his eyes.

"I... no, it doesn't."

"Right ? Puffy deserved better, and they deserve so much worse. That's how it should be. That's what was meant to be. We need to restore the balance, don't you think ?"

Hbomb nodded, his movements still as uncertain.

"Yes, but... what are you suggesting ? What should we do ?"

Eret's eyes fell on Puffy's calm face. She seemed asleep. If only. If only.

He kneeled down, placing her hat on her chest.

"First, we're going to have to tell her friends. She mostly talked about Niki and Bad. They deserve to know what happened to her. Then we're going to bury her. Organize a funeral. Something small, with them, and possibly others. To say goodbye."

They heard Hbomb's sigh of relief behind them.

Too bad they weren't done talking yet.

"And when we're done with that, I'm going to hunt Quackity, Sapnap, Karl and George down, and I'm going to kill them."

Her words left her knight speechless for a few seconds, but he quickly shook himself out of his shock to protest.

"Wait, wait, wait, Eret- you can't kill them ! What about-"

"They _murdered_ her, Hbomb ! Should I let them walk away free, without making them pay ? Should I just let them avoid their punishment ? Tell me ! Do you think that would be fair ?"

He hadn't meant for his words to be so loud, or for the man to flinch as he heard them. Oh well.

"Still, we should warn Dream, he-"

"Dream is not going to be any help ! He's not ! Who do you think he's going to side with ? His two best friends ? Or the king he gives power to ? Dream isn't going to give them an appropriate punishment. We have to carry it out ourselves."

"Yes, maybe you're right, but killing said best friends would be even worse for us ! Can't you see ? We're going to die if you try anything ! Dream will strip you of your power, and who knows what kind of effect killing L'Manberg's vice president would have on a nation that already hates you ! You're in their anthem, for God's sake !"

Eret shook their head, an unamused chuckle escaping their mouth as they removed their sunglasses from their eyes to allow them to stare straight into Hbomb's.

The man had a movement of fear.

Puffy had never been afraid of their eyes. She had never treated them any differently because of them.

Puffy was gone and the rage wouldn't stop storming inside of Eret's chest.

"Let them try, then ! Let them come and fight us ! Let Dream try and take my power away, let L'Manberg try and fulfill their late leader's will ! But I am not going to stand idle. Do you know how much TNT I have, stashed away, ready to be used against anyone threatening us ? Do you know how sharp our swords are and how strong our armors stand ? I'm ready to fight for Puffy. Are you ?"

Hbomb stopped dead in his tracks, his face conveying a feeling of helplessness Eret had rarely seen on his face.

"That's... that's not cool, man. You know how much I appreciated her, of course I'm furious at them for her death, but... But should we really risk everything ? Can the two of us really go against a whole nation and the most powerful man on the server ?"

Eret stared at him for a few seconds. Yes, his argument would be valid, if they had indeed been alone. But they wouldn't be, because she knew exactly what to do.

"What if there were more than the two of us ?"

His knight's face became painted in confusion.

"No, I mean it. Bad was Puffy's friend, and he and the Badlands just want chaos and conflict. We can get them to side with us. Bad, Skeppy, Ant and Sam. As for Dream, he may be one of the most powerful entities around, but do you know who has even more power ? Who has defeated him before ?"

Fear glistened in Hbomb's eyes. "You don't mean..."

"Oh, but I do," Eret purred, their face gaining a cold smirk. "I heard Technoblade hasn't quite been on the best of terms with L'Manberg, lately. I heard he's plotting revenge. Would he refuse our help ?"

"That's... isn't that too risky ?"

"Puffy's life was worth way more than a few risks. Puffy deserves revenge, she deserves to have died for an actual cause, and not just a tantrum thrown by four children unhappy with their parents."

Eret could tell the man didn't appreciate her using Puffy's sacrifice to justify her acts, and to be fair, she probably wouldn't either, had she been calmer.

But he didn't care. He didn't care about anything else than revenge.

Quackity, Sapnap, Karl, George.

They needed to pay.

Hbomb sighed. Eret could already hear his resignation in his voice.

"Fine. I'll help you. I'll stand by your side as your knight, and I'll help you avenge Puffy's honor. I... I don't want to let them go free either.

The ruler smiled at him, perhaps the first somewhat genuine smile they had managed to muster that day.

"Thank you, H. Really. I'm glad to have you as my knight and friend."

But then his eyes fell on Puffy's silhouette, and any hint of calm and reason he had managed the regain was burnt in the flame of his anger.

"Very well, then. We're going to rally the Badlands and Technoblade, and we're going to fight. I don't care about Dream's threats or L'Manberg's people. They came to our door seeking conflict, so I'm going to bring it to them."

Standing up, Eret looked at the horizon and bared her teeth, tightening her grip on the handle of her sword.

Was he making the right choice ?

Perhaps not.

But they needed to do this.

For Puffy.

"This is war. All-out war."


End file.
